PLATINUM PATRONS

e-Newsletter

July 2019

Swiss Chamber

of Commerce

in Turkey

GOLDEN PATRONS

SILVER PATRONS

EVENT PATRONS

HAPPYSWISS

NATIONAL DAY

1st AugustCelebrating Switzerland

EDITORIAL

Yılmaz Yıldız

CEO, Zurich Insurance Turkey

Dear Members of Swiss Chamber of Commerce,

As CEO of Zurich Turkey, it is my honour to welcome you, the distinguished members of Swiss Chamber ofCommerce in Turkey. Zurich Insurance Turkey experiences the honour of being a member of the Chamberwhich we consider a privilege for many years.

Zurich Insurance Group, leading Swiss insurer across the world, entered Turkey’s high-potential non-lifemarket in 2008 with an acquisition. Since then, we have invested over $500m in the sector. Through a veryeffective restructuring program that was launched in 2013, our performance has become a huge successstory. Based on the latest market results, we are the most profitable company among international players inTurkey’s non-life market. Our strategy of focusing on bancassurance and partnerships plays key role in thisbest-in-class performance. We reach almost 9 million customers across 2,000 points of distribution. We havealmost 10 percent market share in bancassurance in the lines of businesses we are strategically active in.

Besides financial success, delivering the best customer experience is at the heart of our strategy. We define‘customer’ in two ways: ‘external customers’ as our end-customers and distribution bank partners, while‘internal customers’ as our employees. We measure happiness of both external and internal customers withour Net Promoter Score (NPS) system. Since the beginning of our restructuring program in 2013, NPS for ourexternal customers almost tripled, as we actively listen to our customers and take proactive measures todeliver the best experience. Turkey’s most popular online customer request communication platform,Sikayetvar, recognises us as the best insurer in Achievement in Customer Excellence Awards since 2017. Asour internal customers, we give equal importance to the happiness of our employees as well, and we aim tohelp them achieve their best. Since 2013, our employee engagement scores almost doubled, which made usthe best amongst other Zurich Group markets and a global best practice. Zurich Turkey qualified as a “GreatPlace to Work” after a very competitive process.

Actively listening to customers is not the only reason behind our excellence in customer satisfaction. We arethe pioneer in Turkish market to offer innovative new generation products and services to our customers. Asone example, our new cyber insurance proposition for individuals and small businesses provides coveragefor cyber risks and helps customers protect their critical information through the free anti-virus and webradar services that we provide together with the product. Likewise, our new SME insurance provides a one-stop shop opportunity for SMEs, and is a unique insurance package in the market.

e-Newsletter July 2019

Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey

EDITORIAL

Yılmaz Yıldız

CEO, Zurich Insurance Turkey

As Zurich Turkey, we use technology to continuously innovate in our processes as well. Through the use ofartificial intelligence and cutting-edge redesign technologies, we are able to make claim payments in as shortas two days. Further, we deliver almost all policies to retail customers digitally via SMS, and we have recentlydeveloped a new mobile interface, from which our customers can access the assistance services as well asclaim information services with just one click.

Since we strongly believe that business is not only about making profits, we strive to carry out corporatesocial responsibility (CSR) projects. We focus primarily on women and children, as the best form of“insurance for the society” is their wellbeing and empowerment. We have recently started a six-year CSRproject together with Zurich Insurance Group Foundation: In collaboration with the Ministry of NationalEducation and the Turkish Education Association, we help train female teachers in rural areas to become rolemodels and social entrepreneurs. We aim to reach 1,000 teachers, more than 30,000 students and 150,000family members by the 100th anniversary of Turkish Republic in 2023.

Zurich Turkey performance in the last 5 years also show that despite economic cycles that may impactTurkey negatively from time to time, with the right strategy, leadership and team, Turkey can be a greatcountry to invest and to conduct business. Going forward, with our 150 years of insurance know-how andglobal expertise, we will continue to offer the very best to our customers, providing them with theconfidence that they are being well looked after.

I look very much forward to meeting you at the occasion of our next gatherings.

Sincerely yours,

Yılmaz YıldızCEO, Zurich Insurance Turkey

e-Newsletter July 2019

Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey

INTERVIEW

Ms Hoşceylan, could you briefly tell us about SwissDays’19?The Swiss Days ’19 will be organized for the first time inIstanbul at Yapı Kredi Bomontiada between 20-22September by the Swiss Business Hub Turkey and theSwiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey (SCCT) in closecollaboration with the Consulate General of Switzerlandin Istanbul, and Switzerland Global Enterprise.Our aim is to promote Switzerland and Swiss companies;Swiss brands, technology, food, agriculture, luxury goods,education, health, culture and more.Switzerland has once more been named the 'bestcountry' in the world according to the annual BestCountries report. It stands out for its low unemploymentrate, skilled labour force, and stable and prosperouseconomy. In addition to that, it is also recognizedworldwide as one of the best countries for building abusiness with high levels of entrepreneurship and good‘global citizenship’. That explains also why it is the mostinnovative country in the world with its political stability,investment security, innovation centers, tech incubatorsetc. Not to mention that Switzerland has some of thevery best universities in the world.

So, we wanted to promote the “Swissness” and raiseawareness of Swiss products during the Swiss Days inIstanbul.I think it will be an event with surprises and variousopportunities for everyone! We will organize differentworkshops and seminars, there will be musicperformance, movie screenings and exhibitor booths. AVIP Gala Dinner as well as our yearly Swiss TurkishEconomic Forum, which we conduct every year, won’t bemissed. What is very important is that this event shall notbe only for adults but also for kids. We will have variousprivate schools from Switzerland joining us as well asdifferent activites for the youngsters.

How did this idea come out?As I have mentioned above, our Chamber and SwissBusiness Hub Turkey want to provide a unique platformto promote Switzerland and Swiss companies andsignalize that Switzerland is more than chocolate, cheese,and mountains. From this point of view, we decided toorganize such a mini expo called Swiss Days. We areworking on the project since September last year.

The reason why we are organizing Swiss Days atYapıkrediBomontiada has another story and connectionwith Switzerland. Bomonti took its name from thebrewery where the Swiss Bomonti family built thebrewery in 1892. We have talked to variousorganizations, also to Sisli Municipality, if there are anydocuments in their archives which give us more insideabout the bomonti factory and the family which has builtin 19th century during the ottoman’s time. What wedefinitely know is that Bomonti Brewery gave the namefor an important district in Istanbul.

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Eda Hoşceylan

Director, Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey

INTERVIEW with Eda Hoşceylan…

Which institutions, companies, brands will join theSwiss Days in Istanbul?The Swiss Days’19 is also supported by Şişli Municipality,YapıkrediBomontiada, Swiss Tourism, dDf, TurkishAirines. Mayor of Şişli is giving a great support in theorganization of this mini expo. Turkish Airlines is the onlyTurkish brand accompanying us during those three days.

The companies and institutions that will participate inthe Swiss Days are Business Luzern, Swiss InternationalSchool in Dubai, Nestle, Hapimag, Shangri-La İstanbul,Swiss Hotel The Bosphorus, Julius Baer, Penergetic, BarryCallebaut, Tektaş, Fairmont Quasar Hotel, HiltonBomonti Hotel, Mövenpick Hotel, ABB, UBP, Oerlikon,Vakko, Swiss Learning, Theodora Foundation, SwissTourism, SwissCenterdent, Victorinox, Turkish Airlines,La Prairie, Davidoff, Leysin, and many more.

Some of these brands and companies will have booths inthe open space of the YapıkrediBomontiada to distributetheir products and to give information about theirtrademarks. Some of them will organise workshops andexclusive seminars.

Universities like Boğaziçi, Sabancı, Koç, Bilgi, Yeditepe,Galatasaray and also Chambers of Commerce in Turkeyare supporting the Swiss Days.

What is Economic Forum's main goal, which will takeplace in Swiss Days 19? Who will attend the forum asparticipant speakers?We have been organizing the Swiss-Turkish EconomicForum every year since 2005. Our Chamber chose hotand trendy worldwide topics for the last five years.Innovation, digital change, industry 4.0, smart cities areall combined topics.

This year, the Swiss Turkish Economic Forum will beorganized for the fifteenth time, on 20 September 2019during “Swiss Days” and our initiative will focus on“Artificial Intelligence”.Switzerland is transforming into one of the mostimportant centers for advancements in AI technology. Italready boasts the highest number of AI companies percitizen (source: ASGARD).

Two years ago, at the ‘Industry 4.0’ panel, our mainspeaker was Mr. Paul Donovan from UBS economicdivision. He mentioned that the Fourth IndustrialRevolution was here to solve the problems created bythe first, second and the third Industrial revolutions. Wehave enough technologies to tackle the world problems,namely the UNDP’s Sustainable Development Goals(SDG). Are we doing so?.. its another issue! As the SwissChamber of Commerce in Turkey, we deeply believe inSDGs and the approach of the Mr. Donovan. So, we willdiscuss challenges and opportunities of AI and how canAI contribute concretely to Sustainable Development.

The programme of the Forum will be announced soon.

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INTERVIEW

Ms Öztürk, why do you think people should come to thisfestival?Everybody who is interested in Switzerland and wants toget to know more about Switzerland, its brands andservices is invited to join this festival. We want to presentSwitzerland as a country full of diverse possibilities.This festival will last three days and will offer somethingfor everybody. Starting with a various amount of boothswhere visitors can obtain information about theparticipating Swiss companies. The difference hereby isthat this festival is not a common ‘exhibition’ event. It isnot only business-driven, it will be more dynamic,interactive and entertaining. We aim to provide acommunicative platform between exhibitors, partnersand visitors.There are going to be cultural activities, workshops andexclusive seminars as well as activities for children whichwill underline the diverse character of this three dayevent!

Is this a private event or can anybody participate?This event is open to the public, especially the outdoorarea of the bomontiada. There is no entrance fee. Ourmain target is to reach as many people as possible.Therefore we decided not to charge any entrance fee.Different chambers, organizations as well as schools &universities support and promote our festival to reachvisitors with different backgrounds. We do not aim tofocus on a certain group of participants and welcomeeverybody who is interested in Switzerland in anydirection.

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Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey

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Yasemin Öztürk

Local Trade Officer, Swiss Business Hub Turkey

What does this festival offers to its guests?This festival provides a unique experience for itsparticipants and visitors. Various Swiss companies joinwith a booth at bomontiada. Visitors are invited to getinto touch with these companies by dropping by. At thesame time Swiss companies get the chance to get directlyinto contact with potential customers and clients.

As Eda Hanım already mentioned before, differentcompanies from different sectors will participate. Sectorswho are joining are among others Food & Agriculture,education, health, luxury goods and hotel industry.

However, this event shall not be for business only butalso for the taste as well as for the ears. We will havesome chefs (i.e. from Swissôtel or Mövenpick) who willshow their skills. Furthermore, we will invite somemusicians and DJ’s coming from Switzerland and playingduring those 3 days. A classical Swiss instrument is theso-called alphorn. Some alphorn players will be aroundand will create the right Swiss sound.

İmage: https://www.swissinfo.ch

In addition, Radio Rundfunk.fm, one of the top radiochannels in Switzerland, will be online 24 hours and willensure a good atmosphere in cooperation with theTurkish radio station Radio 2019. Throughout the SwissDays festival people get the chance to listen to differentdj performances. During daylight hours and in theevenings. There will be some children activities as well,e.g. the Theodora Foundation will organize face paintingsessions and balloon games. And of course we haveplanned some other surprises throughout this festival.

https://tr.theodora.org

How can people learn more about Swiss Days’19 or asktheir questions?People can learn more about the Swiss Days by visitingthe website of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce inTurkey. There they can find all information regarding theSwiss Days. This website will be regularly updatedincluding program, media releases, photos etc. Of course,if the interested visitors have specific questions, we arealways pleased to help and give further information. Ourmail adress is ist.sbhturkey@eda.admin.ch.

e-Newsletter July 2019

Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey

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SWISS DAYS PROGRAMME

INTERVIEW with Yasemin Öztürk…

EVENTS

19 June 2019, Fairmont Quasar Hotel Istanbul

Summer Cocktail Reception

In celebration of the 35th anniversary, the Swiss Chamber of Commercein Turkey organized this year’s Summer Cocktail Reception on June 19th,2019 on the 26th Floor of Fairmont Quasar Istanbul Residences, kindlysponsored by Fairmont Quasar Istanbul.

SCCT President Mr Arpat Şenocak and the Education & ScholarshipsGroup Manager of TEV (Turkish Education Foundation), Mr Mustafa MertÖnen welcomed the guests with their opening speeches.

TEVİTÖL Güher Süher PekinelPolyphonic Choir spiced upthe event with their a capellaperformance. All Proceeds hasbeen donated to The TurkishEducational Foundation (TEV).

More than 150 guestsparticipated the event.

Summer Cocktail Reception e-Newsletter July 2019

Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey

10Photo Gallery

EVENTS

03 July 2019, Le Méridien Otel-Etiler (L’Eclipse Bar), Istanbul

Chamber Corner Event

The International Chambers of Commerceand Trade Offices in Turkey jointly organizeda network event at Le Méridien Otel-Etiler,which offered excellent opportunities tomeet high-profile business people andnetwork with Members of the participatingorganisations. More than 200 membersparticipated the event.

EVENTS

10th July 2018, Swissôtel The Bosporus, Istanbul

Swiss National Day Celebration

The Consul General hosts the National Day celebration in Swissotel The Bosporus

The Swiss National Day celebration is a yearly event, which is inspired by the date of the Federal Charter of1st August 1291, when three Alpine cantons swore the oath of confederation, an action which later cameto be regarded as the foundation of Switzerland. It is celebrated by Swiss representations all around theworld.The 2019 edition in Istanbul, which was hosted by the Consul General, Ms Nathalie Marti, was held in thegarden of the Swissôtel The Bosporus on 10th July, drawing hundreds of Swiss, Turks, Diplomats and friendsof Switzerland alike. The celebration featured a typical Swiss buffet as well as a live Alpenhorn-Player andmusic by a DJ.

UPCOMING EVENTS e-Newsletter July 2019

Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey

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Save the Date

SWISS DAYS PROGRAMME

NEW MEMBERS e-Newsletter July 2019

Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey

14

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NEW MEMBERS e-Newsletter July 2019

Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey

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e-Newsletter July 2019

Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Turkey

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